Redtail Rise Disrespect us, no they won't

@Reek maybe? Saena has some stuff to talk about! This is set after the pack meeting; we can assume that Saena talked about Redhawk Caldera's attack and not finding Junior anywhere.

Days passed by since her return to Redtail Rise in which Saena carried on in a sort of stupor. There was still a gap in understanding that no amount of thinking could bridge. It was so simple, the connection between Junior's disappearance and Fox's attempt on Saena's life, but like all obvious things, it passed her by completely. Even the plateau wolves were unable to puzzle it out, though unbeknownst to Saena, Lasher was very close to unraveling it. By the time they all figured it out, though, she doubted it would even matter anymore. Redhawk Caldera was an enemy from now until the end of time. Nothing would repair that, ever.

She lay on a ledge overlooking the forest to the east, her legs curled protectively around the healing gash in her belly. Though it was still getting better, there was no doubt at all that it would leave a nasty scar. Even some of the smaller wounds were scarring into lines of thinner fur. It would take years before her hair grew out enough to fully cover them. Sighing, the Alpha placed her snout across a foreleg, wincing at the pull in the wound between her neck and shoulder, and stared absently at the horizon.

Everything had changed. Their approach to outsiders would change. The way they manned their borders would change. Even Saena, who wanted so desperately to remain the wolf she was before this, had irreversibly changed because of it. Her eyes, once warm and welcoming, were harder now. But it wasn't all bad, for now she viewed her wolves as closer than ever. She'd left the pack in their paws and they had done well by it. She would never forget that.

With that in mind, she lifted her snout and called for Reek, hoping to learn from him who the new faces were and if they were trustworthy or not. Perhaps he could help her unravel the mystery of Fox's murderous rage while he was at it.

One would think that once the alpha had returned to Redtail Rise, things would have snapped back to normal. Like a stretched rubber band, once the source of tension is gone, the rubber quickly reverts to it's original form... no harm done. However, Redtail Rise was no rubber band. Real life, unlike the sitcoms, doesn't have some sort of cosmic reset button that can be pressed each week so life can continue onward as normal. Nevertheless, Reek wished there was such a button, as he would have probably pressed it frantically and repeatedly like a coked up squirrel.

The traveler inside Reek had had it's figurative hamstrings cut by the recent events that had befallen the pack. The raggedy wolf could trust no one but the wolves of his own pack, his family... at least anymore. Not after what happened to Saena. Redtail Rise now had enemies. In the wanderer's place grew an aspiring warden... determined to to keep the outside out and his pack safe from harm.

His patrols continued even after Saena had come back. However, it could be said that he was a little less obsessive about them, since he could finally put a location to the aggressors. Redhawk Caldera. Even before everything went to shit, Reek wasn't particularly fond of that pack (sans Pantaleimon, of course). But, Pantaleimon was one of them... making him an enemy of the pack. An enemy of Reek.

Reek pulled himself away from his patrol on the border when he heard his alpha's summons. "You called?" He asked, plopping down beside her in the dirt.

As her call died off, a red-tailed hawk rose from the treetops. She traced its ascent through the sky with her eyes and for the first time since returning she smiled. Even if wolf after wolf mounted attempts on her life—something she most certainly was not important enough for—the sight of the hawks winging away over the ridge would always calm her. She belonged here. No amount of rage or hatred over what happened could change that. Slowly, but surely, she would find herself again so long as she was here.

She turned her face to Reek as he arrived and settled himself next to her. She favoured him with a smile. It wasn't as bright and sunny as it had been a few weeks ago when he asked about puppies with Wynter, but it held a characteristic warmth that said not everything had changed. "Reek," she crooned in greeting, "I am glad you were here to hold things down. I'm forever in your debt, and you did fantastically. A natural, I'd say."

There wasn't too much to say about Junior or the Caldera. She'd told all at the meeting. Still, she couldn't help returning to the subject, especially when she looked upon the healing mark on his face and remembered why he had gone there in the first place—what had started all of this. "You have a friend there, don't you?" she asked softly. "Shorts or something?" This was a joke, although a poor one that wasn't delivered with a big enough grin to give it away. She remembered Reek referring to his friend as Pants, so it was a good joke in her opinion, but half-hearted.

"I will not harm your friend. I trust that they are not the sort of wolf to support what happened... for that, they are free to visit." There were actually a few. Despite Saena's decree that Redhawk Caldera was an enemy and that their wolves should be attacked on sight, there were a few who were not to blame for what happened. She was mature enough to know that, and would give Reek's pal the benefit of the doubt, as she would each of Peregrine's younger children if ever she encountered them. When she was recovering, she'd vowed to kill them if ever she saw them, to cause as much pain to Fox as was wolfishly possible... but she was not vengeful enough to actually condemn them for their mother's crimes. It was Fox herself who would die, Peregrine, and their closest friends, Elwood and Finley. The others... well, she would decide for herself about them if ever she saw them.

Saena's expression had changed, but in turn, so had Reek's.  His brief stint of leadership had wiped the childlike glee from his demeanor, leaving only a husk of the jokester behind.  However tumultuous his time was as co-leader beside the stoic greek, Saena still saw fit to thank Reek for his obsessive effort.  But, a natural?  Nah. Within the span of a week, he had emotionally fallen apart.

"Nobody died," he affirmed with a quick nod of his head. "And if I can help it, nobody will."  Although, physically Reek had little to offer the pack, especially in times of war, he was still ready to devote himself fully to the cause.  His herb cache at the peak of the ridge was brimming with plants to use, and if things came down to blows, the raggedy wolf would still be of use.  

Initially, when Saena brought up Pantaleimon with a half-hearted joke, Reek's heart sank.  Despite his horrid pack choice, that strange Stuttering Stanley was still family, and the thought of the two being enemies made Reek physically sick to his stomach.  "Pants,"  he corrected with an extremely terse smile.  However hard he tried to grin, the face muscles just wouldn't comply.  It was as if his face was locked in some sort of perma-scowl.

His expression softened a bit when Saena said that Pantaleimon would get a free pass.  However, Reek disagreed about him being able to visit freely.  "No, he shouldn't come.  He's still one of them.  If I want to see him, I can meet him on neutral territory.  This here," Reek motioned around the territory with his head, "this is ours, and I'm not taking any chances.  Not anymore."

Reek's expression hardened.  "I have an idea about keeping this place as secure as possible, Saena.  I should have brought it up at the meeting, but, I was a bit— er, flabbergasted by the news.  Ever heard of collective security?"  

She nodded a solemn agreement. No one from the Rise would die. If they wanted to go on a suicide mission then they would do it as lone wolves, not as one of them. Bringing trouble down on the heads of their comrades was not the way of a pack wolf, after all, and any who sought to do that would find themselves swiftly booted out on their asses.

She opened her mouth to tell him why she'd really called him here, but the ragged wolf spoke of his friend. She was glad that he felt the way he did, truly. While she would have pardoned Pantaleimon, who likely had absolutely nothing to do with the attacks on Reek or herself, a part of her would prefer that he never come here. Reek was absolutely right after all. The territory was theirs. No others were entitled to set foot on it, and no wolf that sought to harm them would be given an inch.

"I haven't heard of that," Saena answered his question. He had her full attention. Whatever "collective security" was, it certainly sounded interesting and if it had as much promise as Reek implied, then she wouldn't hesitate to implement it. 

Saena opened her mouth, but it quickly snapped shut when Reek spoke of his friend, Pantaleimon. Though, it struck him as odd, he didn't think anything of it and continued on with his explanation.  Of all wolves in the wilds, Reek knew just how unstable the north had been as of late.  With both Ankyra Sound and Duskfire Glacier collapsing in the wake of war, the raggedy wolf had come to the conclusion that the only way to make a stable north was inter-pack cooperation.  A militarized federal front to stand in the way of the threat from the south... but mostly, Redhawk Caldera, a long established pack.

"It's relatively simple," began Reek as he started to flesh out his idea.  "Take the Caldera for example: they're a well established and strong pack. We, on the other hand, are, uh, well... we're not.  If they ever planned to strike offensively, we're boned.  We need to give them a reason to never think of acting first."

"See, collective security is sort of a union," he continued, nodding along to his own words.  "Now that we have Mercury here on the border, I can go— er, make some diplomatic ties.  That pack to the north, Nova Peak; when first met Arion he told me all about them... turns out, I know their alpha, sort of.  I'm thinking I can go extend the olive branch and ensure that they would have our back if things go to shit."  He paused to take a breath from his longwinded explanation.  "Whad'ya think?"

Saena was quiet all through Reek's explanation, though she almost disagreed that Redtail Rise was boned. They were nine members strong, a respectable size for a pack, albeit he had a point that they were new and not established. If they were wiped off the map, nobody would give a shit. Well, except them, of course... but if it came to that, they'd probably be dead. Not a thought that Saena wanted to spend anymore time on.

Thankfully, Reek's next point made a lot more sense. In fact, "I thought of that, too. I met their Beta early on and she asked about a potential alliance." Here she chewed on her lip. It all sounded like such a good idea, but it was also a dangerous one. "I didn't commit at the time because I didn't know what their status was. I still don't. I don't want to get dragged into any wars that have nothing to do with us. I'm not sure they want to, either." That didn't mean it was a bad idea to investigate, though, so she reassuringly added, "we can always talk. Even if we just let them know what's going on... from the sounds of it, they have history with Fox, too." Whether it was good history or bad history remained to be seen.

"I should go with you if you do go," Saena said, hoping Reek didn't take it as some sort of chaperone attempt. To clarify, she told him, "You can do all the talking if you want, but I actually knew their Beta from before, so another familiar face might help. Plus," she went on, "if it turns out they aren't huge fans of Fox, my history with her could give us some leverage."

She gave him time to think about it, then decided now was a good a time as any to bring up her real reason for calling him here. "If you'll be speaking with them, with or without me," Saena mused, "you should do so with the voice of the pack behind you. As Beta." She glanced at him, long and hard, before saying, "if you want to, that is."

In truth, Reek knew his plan could potentially entangle the rise too much in the affairs of other packs, however, in their current state of affairs, he saw reaching out to the north as the best possible answer to their security dilemma. The raggedy wolf nodded along to Saena's concerns, but nevertheless, he was unshaken from his plan of action. Fortunately, it seemed Saena was open to the idea, and would be ok with opening up a mode of communication with the surrounding packs on one stipulation. She had to come too.

"Understood," said Reek in agreement with her condition. She was right, her history would probably have far more of an effect in negotiation than Reek would have ever had. "To be honest, I sort of expected you to come too. The more the merrier," he added, cracking a terse smile.

While the conversation had gone predictably enough, Saena's next few words took Reek by complete surprise. Beta. To say the least, he was flabbergasted, dumbfounded, proud, and scared all at the same time. His initial forays into leadership had turned him into a paranoid and nervous wreck, however, with Saena still at the helm of the pack, Reek figured he could handle the position. "Wait, what?" Sputtered the raggedy wolf in surprise. Beta was the last offer he expected. "M-me? Er, yeah," he said, accepting his new position with nervous glee.

Reek didn't shut down her offer to accompany him. Better yet, he expected that she would be joining him if he went north. She couldn't say it was unexpected, but it was nice to know that he agreed with her decision. Two was better than one, especially if it turned out that Nova Peak and Fox were great friends. It seemed unlikely, but only because of Saena's biased opinion of Fox being the devil, who was incapable of friendship.

When Reek spluttered and accepted his new position, Saena giggled and said, "yeah, you. Who else?" Arion was promising, as was Wynter, but it was Reek that Saena saw the most of. It was Reek she had mainly trusted to hold down the fort, and he knew better than anyone save herself and Junior what they were up against if a war broke out. "Honestly, you're the only one I trust with it. No one here could do it better." She had once said no one could do it better than Junior given her experience in the position, and she still believed that, but Junior was gone. She could come back, and until she did, there really was no one more suited than Reek... and if she did return, there was always another Beta spot.

"When do you think we should go?" she asked, giving him the floor as new Beta of the Rise. With his new position, he would not only get to help with decisions, he would get to make them himself. While Saena was the Alpha and therefore the head honcho who finalized everything and set the tempo for the pack, Reek was its voice and adviser from here on out. She may not directly defer to him, but she would consult with him about almost everything.

For a moment after his acceptance, Reek found himself unable to form proper sentences, or even words for that matter in his excitement. A random cacophony of nervous stumbling flopped out of his mouth like a live trout while he tried to speak.  Who else?  Arion had been the first to come to mind.  He had done quiet well along with Reek in holding the pack together.  He had certainly proved himself in that span of time. "Er— um, I-uh, I thought you'd probably offer this to Arion," stuttered the raggedy wolf in a surprised tone.  "I mean, I'm happy you didn't, he quickly amended, hoping Saena wouldn't take it as if he was unwilling to take her offer (even after his split second decision), because truthfully, Reek wanted this more than anything.

"Seriously though, thanks Saena," he continued, expressing his gratitude. "This means the world to me."  The fact that she trusted him enough to represent the rise in this manner brought a wide grin to Reek's face.  A type of grin that he hadn't sported in weeks.  

After Reek's inner celebration, the two went straight back to business as Saena gave Reek the floor.  "We should leave within the week.  We shouldn't be gone long, but Arion can watch the pack while we're away.  He's certainly proved himself as capable."

The Alpha female shook her head with an amused smile. Arion had crossed her mind, of course, but Reek was simply a better option. She believed he had a more level head than the to-be Warrior, and that was a necessary trait of a Beta. Arion was a great wolf, but she didn't think he would give the best advice. He was better at other things. This was where Reek excelled, she was sure of it.

"He's not as devoted to this pack as you are," she explained to him simply, for she felt that was also true. She had no reason to believe it, but somehow thought that Reek would offer his life for his comrades sooner than Arion would (even if she was probably totally wrong), if for some ridiculous reason that became necessary. "You deserve it, man. Besides, your future kids will need an amazing daddy to look up to, so it wouldn't do for you to be just another pack wolf. What kind of awesome super powers do Gammas have?" Gammas were vital to the pack as well, so this was a mood-lightening jest at best. Saena didn't doubt for a second that Reek's children would think he was amazing if he was a lowly Omega, let alone a Beta.

They turned the topic to more serious things. She nodded her agreement. "We'll have to make sure Arion is cool with keeping an eye on it for us. I don't want to freak him out again, or anyone else for that matter." The last thing she needed was a reputation for disappearing suddenly.

Fade out here? I can start up the thread at Nova Peak tonight once I catch up on some of my threads!

Redtail Rise had become Reek's heart and soul, and for the first time, he had wholeheartedly devoted himself to a cause.  This place was more than just a ridge to live on or some run of the mill pack.  No, it was family.  More-so than Reek had ever had the chance to have, and to represent them as their voice and intermediary brought the bedraggled beta so much pride.  While Saena affirmed her reasoning, he nodded along with his usual happy expression plastered across his face while his tail wagged behind him.

Shit, with this much excitement, it was hard to stand still.

However much he wanted to jump for joy and run circles around his alpha, he refrained.  This new position demanded a sort of professionalism that Reek was not accustomed to, nevertheless he tried his best to remain as proper as possible, but that still didn't stop him from excitable wiggling back and forth in place.  Saena's mention of his future plans for a family only added to his excitement.  The recent events that had befallen the Rise had pushed the fatherly thoughts from Reek's head, allowing his wait for approval from Saena to be a little bit easier.  However, her reminder served only to bring the idea back to the forefront of his mind, making him realize how ready he was.

"I'd like to think I was special before," he chortled with a  prideful smirk.  "But, I guess this makes me special-er.  But either way, their gonna be, like, so loved Saena."  

Being the eager-beaver he was at the moment, he turned on his heels to begin his new beta-ly duties.  "I'll go tell Arion what's up.  Find me when you want to leave," he added before taking off toward the central pack land. 

Sounds good! If you'd like me to start one instead, just hit me up via PM, I need to catch up badly too. >_>

She couldn't help but smile broadly and allow herself to be infected by his excitement. Whatever bad had happened lately could be forgotten, at least for a moment. There was still a lot to take care of and a lot for Saena to do to take the reins of her pack back, but she most wanted to lay here and enjoy their silly brand of family for as long as possible. She almost told him he could have his puppies right now, but refrained, primarily because she wanted to make sure that Fox wasn't going to come to their doorstep with her pack in tow before worrying about babies. The Rise was more than ready to handle them, though.

"Absolutely," she said, though she would actually forget about it for a time. Their visit to Nova Peak wouldn't come within a week, but it was imminent. As Reek headed off down the ridge to find Arion, Saena sighed lightly and, still grinning, turned her face to the south. She wouldn't look again to the east, not for some time, for fear that there would appear there a contingent of wolves to wipe the brief carefree smile from her face.